J. A. St. Leger K. Pugliares Hon S. Ip J.M. Chan Z.W. Carpenter I. Navarrete-Macias M. Sanchez-Leon J.T. Saliki J. Pedersen W. Karesh P. Daszak R. Rabadan T. Rowles W.I. Lipkin S.J. Anthony 2012 <p>From September to December 2011, 162 New England harbor seals died in an outbreak of pneumonia. Sequence analysis of postmortem samples revealed the presence of an avian H3N8 influenza A virus, similar to a virus circulating in North American waterfowl since at least 2002 but with mutations that indicate recent adaption to mammalian hosts. These include a D701N mutation in the viral PB2 protein, previously reported in highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses infecting people. Lectin staining and agglutination assays indicated the presence of the avian-preferred SA&alpha;-2,3 and mammalian SA&alpha;-2,6 receptors in seal respiratory tract, and the ability of the virus to agglutinate erythrocytes bearing either the SA&alpha;-2,3 or the SA&alpha;-2,6 receptor. The emergence of this A/harbor seal/Massachusetts/1/2011 virus may herald the appearance of an H3N8 influenza clade with potential for persistence and cross-species transmission.</p> application/pdf 10.1128/mBio.00166-12 en American Society for Microbiology Emergence of fatal avian influenza in New England harbor seals article